Friday, May 31, 2013

A organiser and pen is a great way to be organised. RMIT has free diaries.

Image courtesy of wired.com.

This skill is really important for you to learn during your years at Uni and beyond. It is not taught in the classroom; rather it is self taught.

You can also get some tips from the Learning skills unit about this as they do have a time management workshop once in a while.

RMIT also has free diaries for students to collect and use.

One good way to get started is to set some goals and little tasks to help you to complete the big task. One thing that myself and Katherine did to complete the website is to set up regular meeting times and there we set some goals and tasks to be achieved by the next time we meet. In most cases this has worked.

A diary would be a great way to remind you of what needs to be done. This can done on Google calendar.

In Australia there is a law about how your information can be used. This is known as the Privacy Act 2000.

An example of a privacy notice. Image from Google Images

What information can be collected about you and why?
Legitimate organizations must state why the information is being used and must also display what's known as Privacy notice.
They must say how it will be used and how it will be kept private. You can object this.

Your access to the Information

The sorts of "private" information that can be collected is
* Name
* Address
* D.O.B (date of birth, if you have be over eighteen for something)
* Bank account details (if you are buying something online)
* Passport details and pictures
* Phone

RMIT (or any other University for that matter) cannot give out any information to a third party without your consent.

If you do need to post private information online,
Make sure that you read the company's privacy policy
In terms of banking and paying for things use Firefox if you have and turn it to private browsing
Read the testimonials
Use a 128 bit security lock
Install anti virus software on your computer (it costs around $30-$60 per year and they are good for keeping viruses at bay). But make sure that you update it once a while and do scans on your computer.
Delete the cookies.

Are you a prospective student coming to Melbourne to study? If so you need to work out these things, or otherwise your stay in Melbourne could be fairly unpleasant.

1) Research the place. Google lots and lots of different blogs so that you get a feel for the place. Know how much things cost down here.

2) Once you have done your research work out your budget. How much can you afford each month? Take the exchange rate into account.

3) Plan your accommodation. No planning leads to a very unenjoyable and costly experience down under. You could be homeless if you haven't planned ahead. You don't have to work out as to which house you will stay in but what housing options are best for you and do your research about the rent so you know what to expect. Head to www.domain.com.au to find out housing prices

4) Work out which is the cheapest airfare for you. You can usually do this from www.webjet.com.au. Webjet is an online service which compares flights so that you can choose whichever one suits you.

5) Work out how you will keep in contact with your parents whilst you're in Melbourne. If you're planning on bringing your own handset make sure that it works here and that you can unlock it without paying the fee. Skype is a cheap way to call them. Most 3G/4G phones has this service installed.

6) Download a calendar on to your phone. Most Android phones would have Google Calendar where you can fill in the important dates

Going traveling soon? These are a list of travel items which you might need if you are traveling around Australia.

|Travel. Image courtesy of Facebook.com

1) A pack of Cards- you should have picked on up on O-day for free for joining clubs etc. This is for really long train/plane/sea trips and you can play heaps of games with your friends without reverting to the boring ole TV/magazine/paper for hours

2) A sewing kit- Airlines might only allow this in checked luggage due to security reasons, but you can always buy one at your destination. A sewing kit costs $5-$10 and you can buy this at most luggage shops and at Lincraft. It is good for sewing on buttons and fixing threads.

3) Tooth picks- you can pick this up at any Chemist or Supermarket. So far we are loving Oral B's toothpicks in a box. Nicely kept and there are lots of toothpicks for only a small price. These are lightweight so it is easy for on the move

4) Bobble bottle-you can reuse it as many times as you like (priced between $8-$20). Simply wash it, put water in it and take it with you. And its also handy when you want filtered water instead of tap as it has a filter and it converts it for you. It's better than buying $3 bottle of water outside.

5) Shoe bags- you can usually pick up one for free at Orientation days. You can put your shoes inside and it will keep the rest of the clothes clean

6) A mini hanging line for washing clothes. Guess what you can hang your clothes in your room and you don't have to worry about someone stealing them

7) A mini laundry kit for to do your laundry and save about $4 at the laundromat

8) A silk liner for your bed. You can buy this at camping stores and Macpac have a 25% off discount for students. As many hotel and hostel beds are dirty this will protect you from bedbugs

9) Foldable flats for the ladies. You can buy them in stores for about $7-$15 a pair.

10) Make your own toiletry kit. Its free and you can use the samples that you collected from Orientation days, showbags etc. It would save you the ridiculous $10 that you'd have to pay for a travel kit outside and would be allowed in your carry on bags at the airport (without the sharp stuff of course)

11) Sunscreen- Australian sunshine is pretty harsh on the skin, thus this is a great idea to bring some sunscreen. Sunscreen doesn't have to be big; in fact it can be a sample from Orientation day. A sample is enough to last a few days.
At the moment we are loving Sunsense's sport cream by Ego. You can buy small quantities of this and it is good for outdoor activities. It is also water resistant for 4 hours.

12) A padlock for your bags- lock your bags. You would be surprised as to how many people exercise commonsense. Like your house lock your bag when you go away. Recently I was going home by Southern Cross station and I saw that not many country travellers locked their overnight bag. Now you don't want someone looking in your bag so it is better to lock it. Padlocks usually come for free with new suitcases but if you don't have one you can buy one from any luggage stores or a hardware shop for about $10-$30.

I am from Mongolia a place which is remote. It is a place which does not have much Internet so I did not know much about the dangers of it. Also my English wasn't very good at that time.

When I came to Australia I saw that Internet was widely popular here and buying things online was popular and cheaper. But I didn't know about the many scams that are around.

I saw something I really liked on Gumtree.com and I thought I'd buy it. Little did I know that the thing would not be delivered and more and more money was taken out of my account. I had to give my account details for payment and I didn't know to look for the Paypal (Australian online payment system) logo or the lock sign. So I just gave it anyway not knowing these things.

I didn't have anti viral software at the time so I was open to hackers without knowing.

My bank account was hacked into three times each time they took about $1000 of my savings. Luckily I could afford the basics, but was behind on my tuition fees by about $3000. So I didn't know what to do.

In the end thanks to the University's understandings I was slowly able to pay back the fee via a payment plan developed by me and student services.

Lessons learnt:
If something is too good to be true then don't buy it
Only spend a small amount online and the rest in person
If buying things online look for the lock or the Paypal sign.
If in Firefox set the browser to Private browsing
Install anti viral software (you can buy this for $50-$60 a year and it will protect your computer from threats)

Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a baking
tray with non-stick baking paper. Arrange the pumpkin on the tray and
drizzle with half the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in oven, on
the top shelf, for 10 minutes or until tender.

Step 2

Meanwhile, heat half the remaining
oil in a flameproof ovenproof dish over medium heat. Add the leek and
garlic, and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the chicken
and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until browned slightly. Add the
rice and stir to combine. Add the stock and bring to the boil.

Step 3

Cover the dish and place in oven with
the pumpkin and bake for a further 30 minutes or until the rice is
tender. Remove the risotto and pumpkin from the oven. Add the pumpkin to
the risotto with basil, lemon rind and 60g (3/4 cup) of the parmesan,
and stir to combine. Divide among serving plates and sprinkle with the
remaining parmesan and extra basil. Serve immediately.

Location: Box Hill TAFE (which by the way I had trouble finding the place and my group from the tram stop. The tram stops at the station and doesn't go any further. Being from the north west I didn't realize that there was another quieter side to Box Hill. I only know the station and city side of it). There is limited parking at Box Hill TAFE so everyone took a tram or a train to get there. By train it is classified to be in zone 2; but by tram it is in zone 1 from the city.
Date and Time: Sunday, 10am-5pm
Costs: $5 for entry, $3 for tea ceremony, $7-$15 for just small plates of food, $2 for a raffle ticket (which we did not buy as we didn't think that we'd win anything), $1 for lollies and $10-$15 for other things.

The games were about $2 each.

The Japan Festival was a fun day out. I went with Sally, Mr Cheap and Mr Japan guy. There were many stalls and performances and I went to a tea ceremony (see the cultural notes).

I didn't have lunch at the festival- only just the takoyaki as the lines were ridiculously long. The lines at the drink bars were long too hence no green tea.

There were prizes to be won for the raffles and the drawing contest.

The games were really fun to watch.

At the stalls there were many toys sold as well as tea, magazines, books, mochi (Japanese sweets for $5), sauces, kimonos, soaps etc. This was a lot bigger than the one at Docklands.

The performances were really fun to watch. We loved the drumming one.

And there was the bonsai plants which were lovely to look at.
Cultural notes:
Tea ceremony- A tea ceremony lasts for about four hours. In this case this one didn't. This one only lasted about 30 minutes. There was about 100 people all attending the ceremony and more were interested in it.
Here the ceremony was explained to us and there were bowls of tea to be tried. Before the ceremony starts we were given wagashi (Japanese sweets).

Takoyaki- these are deep octopus balls which contain flour, water and bits of octopus. This is a favourite street snack in Japan. Here the flour and water are combined to make batter and then once the batter is in the pan the little bits of octopus are added to it. Then it is cooked for about 5-10 minutes. To finish it off they put some sauce on the top and the moving bonito flakes. Yummo.

It was worthwhile spending $5 for the entry fee as we had a great time here. The only downside is that there should be more signage at the station.

Herbalife- we also are featured on healthystudent site

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This blog is for new international students coming into Melbourne. It features all the info about food, welfare and other issues that you may face as a student. This blog will give you some tips on surviving in Melbourne. If you have any questions and a Facebook account feel free to write me messages. Or otherwise you can ask it here. Thanks for visiting.

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